Elder’s previous experience as CEO of Vodafone Ireland and president of a division of AT&T Broadband (now part of Comcast) should help Clearwire make good on its plans to offer 4G service through a variety of channels. And her experience operating a wired ISP should endear her to Clearwire’s cable partners. Elder will report to Chief Commercial Officer Mike Sievert and serve as a member of CEO William Morrow’s executive committee.

Clearwire isn’t the only communications firm shuffling its executive deck today. Qwest, the nation’s third-largest telecom, has promoted Teresa Taylor to chief operating officer. She replaces Thomas Richards, who’s held that position since July 2008 and is leaving to become president and chief operating officer of CDW Corp. So it looks like it could be a tale of two Teresas, with one pushing wireless and the other, wired broadband.